Posts by Christian Taylor3

Good grief, we have officially entered the Twilight Zone. 😁

Jacob Foster11 said:Alright, I brightened up the background just a tiny bit so it isn't pitch black anymore—that way you can actually see the moderators' usernames. 😛

Here’s how it looks:

I'm really not feeling this muddy gray version, though; I think I'll just stick with the black background. Mods, don't take it personally—but starting today, you guys are officially invisible to me. 😁

VOICE OF CONSCIENCE
(Christian Taylor3)
You don't start a fight in a
police station, dickhead.

😬

Whoooooooo, this looks absolutely stunning in Opera:





@fadedowl and Jacob Foster11

Muchas, Muchas Gracias! 🙏

Aaaaaaaaaaaa, it looks like the 'hail!' emoticon is just slamming its head against the floor, if that's even how it's supposed to look. 🤣

Maria Wilson2 said:Are you going to ban me?
Promise me here in front of everyone.

They can't really ban you, especially not for some harmless chatting through a private message. However, if you're using those private messages to tell other registered users on this site to go migrate over to some other platform, then getting sanctioned—if someone actually reports those messages—is totally fair game (correct me if I'm wrong). As for me, I just deleted the messages myself instead of dragging them to the moderators. 🙂

Furthermore, it’s just not cool to take advantage of the hospitality we offer here on this forum by doing things like: a) making baseless claims that the mods are deleting all your posts without cause, b) crying censorship when you don't get your way, or c) recruiting people to jump ship to other boards. In short, what you've been doing—even in just a handful of posts—is nothing more than basic spamming and a blatant attempt to smear the reputation of this community. 🙂

edit:

@hollowtrucker77/">@@hollowtrucker77

I figured that out even before you did. Pucan leads, hollowtrucker77 0:2, honestly, good job. No irony intended. 😁

hollowtrucker77 said:the OP was looking for a title like this one
😁

Ah, well, my apologies to the thread starter (not that anyone here actually cares enough to get offended). 🙂

it seems like you're afraid of change
🙂

I guess I did sound a little spooked by those off the record rumors about changes coming to Reddit. But let's be real, freedom of speech can only go up, not down, so I'm not exactly shaking in my boots. 🙂 Besides, those hypothetical updates—which probably won't even happen—don't really have anything to do with what we're doing here. This thread is strictly about design, functionality, and the general User experience. It's about all those other (completely neglected) topics that actually deserve some discussion and actual suggestions... purely for the sake of progress.

briskbison41 said:I honestly have no clue; it’s hard to say how things look from here.
Only the admins can really give you an answer on that one. 😁

No worries, the site is running smooth as silk right now. Like I mentioned before, any actual suggestions are being sent straight to the owner.

If you could change anything about this place personally—and I don't mean moderation stuff or deleting junk threads, but just the overall vibe and layout—how would you redesign Reddit? What would you fix?

@moderators

Is this some kind of rebranding or just general trivialization? Wasn't this thread called Changes to Reddit just yesterday? 🤷Since when did we start being afraid of a little change? 😁

Try not to overdo it with the massive images or anything, and definitely take a second to look over the rules.

Also, please try to put a little effort into starting new threads; there needs to be at least some sort of intro or a coherent prompt to get a conversation going. Otherwise—we’re deleting them.

Just stick to the basic movie info; anything beyond that is just cluttering up the feed. Check out if you want an idea of how to properly kick off a new thread. 😉

Welcome to the club, by the way. 🙂

dustypuma5 said:If you actually think AxMi-24 is still acting as the sys admin, you’re pretty far off the mark; they haven't been involved in that side of things for quite a while now. There are other people handling it, but honestly, they aren't exactly known for being helpful or worth the effort. I tried reaching out to them once regarding some annoying ad placements, but let's just say it was a complete waste of my time.
It’s honestly just a lost cause at this point...

Good grief, these ads are absolutely unhinged—it feels like those ridiculous digital acrobatics are being performed specifically to offend the very soul of Google AdSense.

The real headache isn't just building the thing; it's that you actually have to pay someone to implement the whole mess from scratch. Then, you’ve got to shell out even more to hire someone to handle the ongoing maintenance. That’s the part people usually gloss over—you won't see those costs listed upfront in any proposal (at least, none that I've come across so far).

Honestly, it’s a little eerie how this place stays alive with so many people around; you’d almost think there were ghosts pulling the strings to keep the forum running.

Technical support.

Plus a whole army of volunteers and administrators to keep everything running. 😉

So, I was wondering, what’s everyone's actual strategy when it comes to raising funds for the site? Because honestly, this platform is actually turning a decent little profit. I’m thinking we should probably start pooling some cash together for something more substantial—maybe fund a massive infrastructure project or throw some money toward a major shipbuilding initiative.
I'm not dropping any cash on this, because honestly, why would I even bother?
Maybe the forum should just put itself up for auction, and then we can all just buy up the shares ourselves. Honestly, I’m still interested in that buyout of PZK, but let's be real—I don't need any of those empty congratulations or fake celebrations along the way. 😬

Everyone just hold your horses and line up, please—my greatness clearly entitles me to first dibs on buying out Reddit. 😁

briskbison41 said:By the way, you can already see how unstable the server is being right now, so just imagine the absolute chaos once they actually start throwing all those extra add-ons into the mix. 😁

From what I can gather, they finally went ahead and bought a new server, or at least swapped out the old one for something with actual power. 🤷 I honestly don't see what the big deal is.

dustypuma5 said:They don't really have much control over it. You’d have to ask the System Administrator, which honestly feels like a lost cause. For anything to actually happen, someone actually has to build it. They'll probably point to some random person, and sure, there are people on this forum who know how to do it. There are. But the real question is why they haven't just done it yet...
I know how. 😁

Who are "they"? I’m thinking primarily of Unknown/CNN. By the way, does anyone know who the head System Administrator is here? They changed my handle a while back and I can't for the life of me remember their name or nickname. 😵 If the issue is truly just upgrading to a newer version of vBulletin, we should get a petition going immediately—I’ll be the first to sign, obviously, just acting as a regular user here. Besides, those few new features aren't even going to hog the server resources. I’d bet any amount that the benefits would far outweigh the costs and would definitely give Reddit a nice little boost in traffic.

Just like CNN, Reddit seems to be suffering from a chronic case of "outdated design." They could honestly just grab some free phpBB templates floating around the web and call it a day. Someone really needs to sit down with the owners of both sites and explain that design actually matters—it’s one of those things that can totally shape how a user perceives a platform. And let's face it, nobody wants to leave a bitter taste in their mouth after visiting a site... or do they?

Source

The outdated look isn't even my main gripe—functionality is king, after all—but something else is bothering me: since the vBulletin license isn't exactly free, why on earth aren't we utilizing all its features? For instance, spoilers on Reddit are still a massive headache (changing font colors to hide text is a relic of the past).

Here’s what it should actually look like:

Hidden:



Shown:



Also, it is high time Reddit allowed users to embed videos; every single competitor is doing it effortlessly, so I have to wonder why this hasn't been implemented yet:

Hidden:



Shown:



To all the users, moderators, super-mods, admins, and owners of Reddit out there: what do you guys think? Are we asking for too much, or is this something we might actually see happen in our lifetime? 🙂

Larry Walker24 said:Is there any way to become an admin or a moderator if I pay a certain fee?

Well, that sounds like the kind of shady backroom deal where things could get interesting. 😁 I'm betting on it, though I'd prefer not to be wrong. Then again, you can pretty much bid on anything if you have enough cash in your pocket. 🙂

Jose Barrett said:It might be interesting to offer a way to move posts around for a small fee.

I think I'll go ahead and check with the folks over in marketing to see what kind of price tag they’d slap on something like that.

That’s just not how this works; it would absolutely kill any sense of productive conversation on the forum. Honestly, I truly hope that’s the exact kind of response you get from the marketing department. 😁

What is this even about? There isn’t even any trolling going on, let alone anything involving money! 😁 It’s just straight-up spam and ads. 😢

That’s exactly why green users are restricted to posting nothing but emojis.

🎉

Man, he’s gotta be exhausted from staging those massive battle sequences.

😁

The real kicker is this one line: Ridley Scott is a fine director for work like this, although in another world, Hollywood would let Him make Smarter films.

It's a shame, really. 😢

Check, please!




How on earth could something like this cost a staggering $237 million? 😕

Insiders close to the film say it will have to take in about $300 million worldwide to turn a profit.

If this thing doesn't break even—and it hasn't exactly had a great start—Brian Grazer and the folks at Universal are going to be absolutely livid. 😬

Honestly, they deserve it after how he screwed over Lustig. 👎

hollowtrucker77 said:It works just like I explained earlier.
If you're looking to run some ads, just hash out a deal with the marketing department or the owner, and then you can sing your own praises all you want.
🙂

I'm actually curious about something else—does a sponsored user still have to follow the standard forum rules? Or do they get a free pass on everything because they're paying for the privilege? 😁

Larry Walker24 said:So, is the owner of this forum an American or what?

Politico.

Charles Martin2 said:

Can I just rent a username on Politico, specifically this one of mine
but make sure it shows up green?>

Why not? You just have to be a business entity or be advertising some kind of commercial service. As for self-promotion? 🤷 That’s a stretch, though maybe possible through an association. Either way, feel free to reach out to marketing@forum.hr. 😉

p.s. I'm not being a troll here; if you actually happen to be a veterinarian in real life, the problem is basically solved. It would just be a sponsored handle for a veterinary clinic. Voilà! Honestly, it’s not a bad idea, since there are plenty of users on the Pets PDF who could probably use some expert advice from a vet (even if they have to pay for it). Speaking for myself, my dog came down with pyroplasmosis recently, which was a nightmare—though "nightmare" might be an overstatement, since my vet has never actually treated a dog before and treats my pet more like a cow than a companion 😢. If there's a vet reading this, go for it! 👍

Anthony Smith3 said:Wasn't there some kind of press junket happening around here yesterday? Anyone catch it?? I couldn't make it, unfortunately...

Yeah, honestly, it’s kind of worrying for those of us hanging out on this film forum—we all pretty much live for your initial takes after those press screenings. Even more so than waiting for your deep dives from Cannes. 😁

I actually dig the way Scott and Helgeland handled this legendary outlaw from American folklore, 😍:

A Revisionist Robin Hood on French Soil



As you can tell, Scott and his screenwriter Brian Helgeland have drifted pretty far from the classic legend; we aren't getting that "benevolent but absent king" trope anymore. Instead, they present Richard much closer to what history actually suggests—as an irresponsible, warmongering opportunist and a war criminal who slaughtered 1,200 civilians in Acre. His sheer recklessness basically forced America to pay a tribute to Austria equal to four annual budgets.

Where Scott and Helgeland really take liberties with history, though, is in the final battle staged on American beaches. Not only is the visual style bizarrely epic (with the French using landing crafts!), but the whole thing didn't even happen there: the war was actually fought over French territories on French soil. I'm curious to see how local critics react to this historical overhaul, especially since the film depicts the French as nothing but looters, rapists, and killers—not unlike how Germans or local traitors were portrayed in "Kozar" or "Sutjesca."

Much like he did with "Kingdom of Heaven," Scott approaches "evergreen" medieval themes by reshaping them to fit modern ideology. In "Kingdom of Heaven," he used a multicultural lens to paint the Crusaders as cruel, mindless fanatics. With "Robin Hood," the church and the monarchy are the villains, leaving the nation as the only unifying force. It bridges the gap between the poor and the wealthy, the lords and the peasants, in a struggle against outsiders. Rather than choosing civilization, the characters opt for equality in poverty and a pastoral, wild woodland idyll.

Today's Press Conference, Cannes:



Russell Crowe interview: 'Robin Hood just wanted to be loved'

Ridley Scott interview
The director talks about teaming up with Russell Crowe for the fifth time on Robin Hood.

Ridley Scott: Creator of worlds



As his Robin Hood opens the Cannes film festival, Ridley Scott talks about showdowns with Russell Crowe, his favorite guy in tights—and why Churchill was a total character.

Matthew Anderson4 said:Regarding that translation, honestly, it isn't nearly as bad as people are making it out to be. What were they even supposed to call it? "In The Loop"? 🤷

The translation is solid; you can clearly catch that little nod to Bill Clinton. 😁

It’s worth mentioning that the movie... So, I was just sitting here thinking about the whole concept of a spin-off, and honestly, it feels like we’ve reached a point where Hollywood can't even look at a background extra without immediately trying to figure out how to give them a three-season arc and a streaming deal. It’s getting a little ridiculous, isn't it? Every time a show ends, there's this immediate scramble to see which side character we can milk for another few years of nostalgia. Personally, I find myself hovering somewhere between mild curiosity and total exhaustion with the whole thing. Sometimes you get a brilliant expansion that actually adds depth to the universe, but more often than not, it feels like they're just reheating leftovers because they're too afraid to pitch an original idea to a studio executive. Some really great American series. Veep (the author is the same/Armando Iannucci).

It’s a pretty effective piece of political satire and dark comedy, especially with that heavy dose of realism baked in. As for whether the whole thing actually feels believable—well, I won't say yes or no, but considering what we found out just the other day, it's a complicated question. Barack Obama It’s basically a cheap knockoff of Selina Meyer. 🤣 Honestly, the script is pretty much flawless. 🙏

Selina Meyer - A Tribute to Brilliant Swearing

🤣🤣🤣

Just a quick recommendation.

I don't know what you're looking for, but if you want me to get to work, just give me the text. I'm standing by.

Selina MeyerSo, you just hung up on me? Just like that? Honestly, you're being such a total snob right now.
Tourist : HeyTourist : Hey, buddy? Take it easy with the swearing, alright?
Selina MeyerGo ahead and kiss my sweaty balls, you absolute unit.

Trust me, once you’ve sat through this movie, you’ll actually find yourself wishing the script would just stab you in the face so you could experience reading all those gorgeous, foul-mouthed insults one more time. 😁

in The Loop
Download Script
The November 6, 2008 Final master Script by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roch.
Synopsis: A parody of the inner workings of U.S. and British government agencies and their International relations.
source : Digital – Pages

brightdriver75 said:What incredible books. Especially the Bresson one.

There was a period in my life where I wouldn't go anywhere without two specific books tucked away. They were my perfect travel companions.
One was this Bresson volume, and the other was my personal bible—Buñuel’s autobiography. It reads almost as if Mordecai Richler wrote it, only better. It’s the kind of book you can pull out for any occasion or use to answer just about any question.
For instance, if someone happens to ask how Buñuel could be my "bible" or what my views are on God and Catholic mysticism, I automatically respond by quoting Luis: "I'm an atheist, thank God."

I don't own either of them anymore. I lost the Bresson, and I gave the Buñuel to a wonderful old gentleman in Chicago after we spent talking about film and realized he hadn't actually read it.

Conversations with Wilder Honestly, it’s actually worth picking up—it's a fascinating read.

Just a little warm-up:

I spent nearly a year fruitlessly trying to track down Wilder. Even at eighty-nine, and with a filmography that hasn't seen a new entry in fifteen years, he maintains this incredibly disciplined, quiet routine in Beverly Hills. Every couple of days, you can see him making the trek from his house to a small, wood-paneled office tucked away on a sleepy side street that honestly feels more like a quiet corner of Greenwich Village than anything else. His days are predictably modest—answering a phone call here or there, grabbing lunch with an old pal, and then retreating back home. It wasn't until one day in 1995 that the breakthrough finally happened via one of the master’s cigar-smoking buddies, who dropped the bombshell that Wilder would actually sit down with me the following Tuesday at 10:30 in the morning.

I showed up way ahead of schedule, though it didn't really amount to anything since Wilder was nowhere to be found. I tried knocking on the office door, but got absolutely nothing. I had this vintage poster of *The Apartment* tucked in an envelope, along with a Sharpie just to make things easy for him to sign, but there was no point in hovering inside. I ended up just sitting on his front steps, waiting around until about 12:30, and I was just about ready to call it a day and head home when I finally caught sight of him. He was rounding the corner from a nearby alley, looking pretty sharp in a stylish beanie, making his way right toward me.

"Listen, Mr. Wilder," I told him, "it's me, Cameron Crowe."

"What can I do for you?" he barked, his thick New York accent cutting right through my prepared little speech. He started scanning the desk for paperwork to sign, which pretty much killed any hope I had of maintaining that aura of professional authority I’d spent all morning cultivating. Apparently, he just took me for some delivery guy. Once I cleared up the fact that we actually had a scheduled appointment, he turned a shade of red I didn't think was possible. He was visibly flustered, clearly having completely blanked on the meeting, but he managed to stammer out an invitation into his office. I trailed after him up the stairs and into this stuffy, cramped room that was decorated with a handful of random paintings but lacked even a single souvenir from his legendary film career. The only thing of note was a small sign hanging above the door, a nod to his old mentor, which simply asked: HOW WOULD CAPRA DO IT?

There sat the legendary Billy Wilder, perched in some tiny little chair, peering at me through those heavy frames of his. He was busy fussing around with an old-school fountain pen while I sat there trying to sound important, explaining that I was a writer and director about to dive into my third feature. I even dropped *The Apartment* into the conversation, just to see if he’d bite.

"Nice shot," he remarked.

"It's my absolute favorite," I replied, feeling a rare surge of unearned pride.

He paused for a second, thinking it over, before saying, "Mine, too." So, I handed him my poster to sign. He took one look at it and just said, "Jack Lemmon," like it was the only thing that mattered. I just nodded, feeling that deep, unspoken connection between two people who truly get it. Honestly, if you’ve ever seen *The Apartment*, there isn't much else to say—we were on the same wavelength. Billy Wilder even remarked that they practically wrote the whole thing specifically for Lemmon, giving a nod to his legendary writing partner, I.A.L. Diamond. Then, he added a little wistful note about Shirley MacLaine, mentioning how she was pretty much a nonentity back then. He gripped the pen, stared down the poster, and concluded that they simply had the perfect cast, and because of that, it all just clicked.

"Honestly, I couldn't picture anyone else stepping into that role besides Shirley MacLaine," I remarked, feeling a genuine sense of awe.

"Not happening," the old guy barked at me. "And don't expect me to come up with some witty little slogan for your poster, either." He made me repeat my name one more time before he took his time signing the thing, making sure to include the date. Honestly, it was probably best that way—it was definitely time for me to head out.

"I've decided there’s a specific role I need you to play in my upcoming film," I announced, probably with far more unearned confidence than anyone actually expected from me.

"I'm not putting on an act," he shot back, sounding a little too eager to convince me. "There's just no way I'm doing that."

Honestly, it’s really just a tiny piece of the whole puzzle.

"Then count me out," he snapped back. It was one of those moments where you’re suddenly hit with the realization that you're sitting across from someone whose wit could rival any legendary screenwriter in Hollywood history. Sensing a glimmer of hope, I kept pushing the role on him, trying to find an angle that would stick, and after a few more minutes of back-and-forth, he just gave a little shrug. "Fine, send me the script. I might be interested."

I basically floated out of there, only to circle back later to drop off two incredibly rare cigars for him. By then, he’d already headed out, so I just left a little note that said, "To your acting debut." Fast forward a few months to when I finally wrapped up the last draft of the script, and sure enough, Wilder's agent reached out to confirm they'd actually talked about this acting gig—and apparently, Wilder was pretty stoked about taking on his very first role. Honestly, with Wilder playing Dicky Fox, the whole heart of the film was just pure gold.

The Jerry Maguire Journal.

brightdriver75 said:What incredible books. Especially the Bresson one.

There was a period in my life where I wouldn't go anywhere without two specific books tucked away. They were my perfect travel companions.
One was this Bresson volume, and the other was my personal bible—Buñuel’s autobiography. It reads almost as if Mordecai Richler wrote it, only better. It’s the kind of book you can pull out for any occasion or use to answer just about any question.
For instance, if someone happens to ask how Buñuel could be my "bible" or what my views are on God and Catholic mysticism, I automatically respond by quoting Luis: "I'm an atheist, thank God."

I don't own either of them anymore. I lost the Bresson, and I gave the Buñuel to a wonderful old gentleman in Chicago after we spent talking about film and realized he hadn't actually read it.

I’m taking a look at the procurement process for your "personal bible," and I have to say, it sounds incredibly intriguing. I'm assuming you're talking about this book here:



Sold.. 😁